Conversations on the challenges of governance

There is a great deal of interconnectedness in leadership and governance between arts and cultural sector institutions and universities in the UK. A long tradition of academics and researchers serving on arts boards, and arts sector workers playing governance and leadership roles in higher education (HE) undoubtedly enriches both sectors.

However, at a time of unprecedented, shared challenges – financial pressures; the need for sustainable provision; equitable, decolonised working practices and subject matter; alongside a crisis in leadership and workforce morale – could new forms of leadership – and governance – be mutually beneficial?

‘If one falls, we all fall’

Maria Delgado thinks boards can play an important role in developing cross-sector thinking on devolved, shared and collaborative forms of leadership. As a vice principal (for research and knowledge exchange) at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she would go so far as to say that volunteer governance should be a clear expectation for academics and HE sector leaders – as professional development and to contribute to universities’ civic agenda.

Holding a range of leadership positions across HE and the arts, Delgado believes that, given the complex interdependencies and connections between the two sectors, “if one falls, we all fall”. “Working together has never been more important.” This is particularly true of small, specialist arts institutions whose teaching, research and engagement is inextricably linked with the professional sector.

Delgado is passionate about distributed leadership and how more collegiate ways of working – across rather than within silos – can strengthen diversity of thought and experience and lead to stronger institutions and organisations. She thinks it’s important to develop transdisciplinary thought leadership and to learn how to work collaboratively with organisations traditionally seen as in competition.

How can leaders help?

Delgado says: “Trustees need to be able to challenge the status quo, we need a culture where generous, robust questioning is welcomed, of clarity around where the boundaries lie between governance and management and the cultivation of conditions and structures to support partnership and enable people at different levels to have agency to lead. How can we support effective distributed leadership? How can we share better? And how can we ensure we retain humility, an ability to reflect on what doesn’t work and why – and then do something about it?”

This is a challenge for boards, particularly given that effective governance is a key issue in both HE and the arts. University governing bodies and arts boards are largely dependent on volunteers who must balance strategic oversight with operational understanding.

Recruitment, training and retention of trustees with relevant skills remains a shared challenge. Addressing it requires more adaptive governance models, stronger cross-sector partnerships and a commitment to leadership development that prioritises diversity, financial resilience and public engagement.

Potential of cross-sector collaboration

Hilary Carty is executive director of Clore Leadership. She agrees there is much to be gained from closer collaboration focused on leadership and governance, emphasising the opportunities between higher education and the arts and cultural sector. Both sectors, she says, are navigating increasingly complex expectations of trusteeship and leadership; expectations that demand stronger frameworks and better support.

“There are growing responsibilities on trustees – not in formal terms, legal changes move more slowly – but in terms of the issues that executive teams are now managing and the extent to which trustees are being drawn into live decision making.”

Carty underlines the need for proper induction processes, space for early questions and mutual understanding to help trustees navigate these challenges and meaningfully contribute. She highlights the potential of shared training and resource development across sectors: “The access to formal training within the academic sector is wonderful… there isn’t that depth within the arts and cultural sector.” With personal experience in HE governance, she thinks more open sharing of resources and expertise to raise standards across both fields would be mutually beneficial.

Another potentially rich area for collaboration lies in research. Carty identifies the need to rationalise governance processes and deepen understanding of good practice, particularly as models of leadership evolve in response to hybrid working, shifting structures and new organisational demands: “There’s a need for more research and more input as the models we’re using become more nuanced.”

This underscores the potential of cross-sector collaboration, not only in board appointments but through shared learning, research and leadership development, to shape more resilient and effective cultural and educational organisations.

A complex ecosystem of relationships

Jo Chard, senior manager for Creative Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, sees governance as a complex ecosystem of relationships, power dynamics, policies and processes. In the cultural and HE sectors, this most often takes the form of hierarchical leadership. Decision making can suffer from impenetrability, characterised by opacity, vague bureaucracy and a lack of diversity.

Chard says that for both sectors, there has been a shift in policy and practice towards involving a broader range of communities in decision making, including local community members, partners, staff, students and alumni. There are shared challenges to creating more porosity in governance. Organisations have to balance diverse and often competing interests; mitigate power imbalances and unequal representation; establish clear mechanisms to support accountability and transparency; and push against internal resistance to change.

Despite this, many universities and cultural organisations are experimenting with participatory forms of democracy and benefiting from their potential. These forms of decision making enable better representation; diversity of thought and experience; increase project effectiveness and sustainability; and allow for better integration and cohesion with and between communities through models such as community advisory boards, citizen juries, participatory budgeting and town halls.

However, says Chard, except for student unions, these methods are rarely a formal part of organisational governance, in large part due to the predefined governance structures laid out by bodies like the Charity Commission and the Committee of University Chairs. This makes them vulnerable to changes in leadership or budget cuts.

Overall, while policies exist to support community involvement, achieving meaningful, equitable participation remains difficult for both HE and cultural organisations. But many are challenging their own governance to include more people through expanding how decisions can be made and by whom.

Embrace a collective commitment

At a time of profound, shared challenge and change, the arts, cultural HE sectors could embrace a collective commitment to strengthening leadership and governance. By working together to share expertise, build cross-sector training and research initiatives, organisations could champion participatory decision-making, and support more adaptive and inclusive models of governance to create stronger, more resilient institutions. 

There is much potential for leaders, boards and trustees across both sectors to join together to challenge outdated practices, to nurture new talent and perspectives, and to lead with humility, collaboration and courage. The future health of our shared ecosystem depends on it.